Kansas City
Oral Roberts
Short-handed 'Roos Battle, But Fall to Golden Eagles 72-65
12/28/2011 10:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
(Kansas City, Mo.) - The UMKC Kangaroos knew they were in for a tough game even before second leading scorer Trinity Hall was forced to sit out due to injury, but they played the Summit League favorite Oral Roberts Golden Eagles close until the end, eventually falling 72-65.
The Kangaroos (7-8, 1-2 SL) had four players out due to injury in the contest, but played a four-guard lineup most of the night, and switched up defenses to keep the Golden Eagles (10-4, 2-0 SL) at bay, forcing 19 turnovers. ORU hit 22-of-26 from the line though, and used a dominating 41-17 advantage on the glass to take the win and extend its win streak over UMKC to 13 in a row.
The two squads were in a tight battle for the opening 15 minutes, with ORU holding on to a 28-26 lead, but 12-0 run over the next four-plus minutes for the Golden Eagles gave them a commanding lead. UMKC tallied the final two points of the period thanks to a couple free throws, but trailed 40-28 at the half.
Senior guard Reggie Chamberlain had eight at the break for UMKC, while his former Raytown High School teammate, ORU leading scorer Dominique Morrison, tallied 16 in the half. ORU shot 57.7 percent, including a 22-7 rebound edge, while UMKC shot 34.6 percent.
The second stanza started in favor of the 'Roos, with junior forward Thomas Staton scoring the first six points for UMKC, highlighted by a fastbreak dunk after a steal. A three-pointer by Chamberlain at the 16:56 mark cut the score to 42-37.
The score hovered between a five and nine-point margin until another run by UMKC started with 8:32 to play. ORU was up seven, but the 'Roos cut it to only two on a Kirk Korver three-pointer less than a minute later. That would be the closest it would get though, as ORU pushed it back to six with 6:45 on the clock. UMKC cut it down to three on two occasions down the stretch, but each time the Golden Eagles had an answer.
The Kangaroos stayed in the game thanks to 10 steals in the final half (13 for the game), and 10 three-pointers during the game, while holding ORU to 0-11 from beyond the arc. UMKC finished shooting 37.5 percent, while ORU was at 51 percent.
Morrison led the Golden Eagles with 28 points in his homecoming game while teammate and fellow Kansas Citian Michael Craion had 14 points and 16 boards. Chamberlain led four 'Roos in double-figures with 17. Staton had a career-high 15 points, while Korver tallied 10. Freshman guard Estan Tyler tallied 10 and dished out five assists.
UMKC will continue league play when it hosts Southern Utah on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. at Swinney Recreation Center.
